Orlin
by Hokusman
Summary: As time runs out for the people of Earth, the search for the cure to the Ori plague takes its toll on Orlin's mind.


Orlin  
---  
by Levi Roberts

Orlin stared at the computer screen. He knew with each passing moment critical information was continuing to slip away. Even now, he was already having difficulty concentrating. He sat slumped, his chin resting in the palm of his hand, and stared off into space for a moment.

_I wonder how many hours I've been doing this without any additional progress._

It had been a relatively insignificant amount of time since The Others had allowed Orlin to ascend again, and now here he was once more, interacting with non-ascended beings.

_I destroyed an entire civilization by interfering with their affairs. Why did they choose me of all people to help the humans?_

Orlin realized he was getting distracted from his work. He shook his head and blinked his eyes, trying to regain his focus. Still, the DNA sequences on the screen were beginning to look less and less comprehensible. Orlin entered only a couple keystrokes before he heard footsteps outside the open door.

Orlin rubbed his eyes and looked up at the doorway as she entered. Samantha Carter. She was as beautiful as ever as she entered the room. He knew there was no time for extraneous thoughts, but he could not ignore his love for her.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "I thought you were going to get some rest."

He knew rest was another thing there was no time for in their current situation.  
"As soon as I finish the DNA sequencing program. That way when we get the sample from the Prior, we can plug in the decoded strand, and we'll know if it's going to help."

He saw her expression change when he said this. He knew he must have said or done something wrong again.

_Did I forget some human convention?_ he wondered.

"Orlin, you've already done it."

"What?" Orlin asked, puzzled.

"The sequencing program. You finished it a couple hours ago. You were going to get some rest."

Orlin was momentarily stunned. Was it really true? He struggled to remember the past few hours. Even things that had just happened were becoming fuzzier with each passing moment. He did remember getting up from the computer a while back, and looking for somewhere to lie down, but then coming back.

"I...was on my way, and...I felt like...I had forgotten something."

He saw the concern on her face and heard it in her voice as she said his name: "Orlin?"

"It's okay, I...I'm just tired," Orlin tried to reassure her.

"No you're not. I want you to go see Dr. Lam."

Orlin appreciated Sam's concern. The thought entered his mind that maybe she was actually beginning to care for him the way he did for her, but he pushed it away. He didn't want to be a burden to anyone right now, with so much at stake.

"I think she has enough to deal with right now." Orlin said.

"Orlin, you're our best hope for finding a cure," Sam replied. "We need you to be okay."

Orlin realized she was right. They needed him, and he wouldn't be able to help them if he damaged himself further by overexerting himself.

"All right," he said. "I'll go right now. Maybe some rest will help me to refocus my thoughts."

"All right," Sam said, smiling slightly. She waited for him to get up from the computer, and walked into the hallway with him, then started to walk away down the hall.

Orlin turned to his right and took a couple steps then stopped. He turned toward Sam, who was walking the other way.

"Sam," he said, raising his voice slightly, as she was about to turn a corner.

She stopped and turned around.

"Which way is the infirmary?"

She walked back over to where Orlin stood.

"It's right down the corridor, past the science lab."

Orlin stood still, his weariness slowing his reaction to Sam's directions.

"Here, I'll walk you there," Sam offered.

Orlin smiled his gratitude, and Sam began walking down the corridor, walking slightly ahead of him. He took a couple quick steps to catch up with her, and placed his hand in hers. Orlin could tell Sam was startled as she gave him her "I'm not so comfortable" look, but he was somewhat surprised that she didn't pull away.

_Perhaps her perception of me has altered after all._ Orlin thought to himself, wondering if she would have let him hold her hand if he had not taken this form.

_But then, would I have tried to hold her hand if I wasn't in this form?_ Orlin wondered.

Orlin looked at his hand in Sam's, then looked up at her face as she led him through the hallway. She looked worried, and tired as well. Sam had been working as hard as he, Orlin knew, possibly harder.

_What if I'm unable to find the cure in time? The humans from Earth are one of the strongest and most resilient forces in this galaxy. Without them, it will surely be easier for the Ori to gain a foothold._

They passed the lab, and entered the infirmary. Dr. Lam was on the other side of the room, entering something on a touchscreen monitor. Suddenly, Orlin was overcome with a wave of dizziness. He tried to balance himself, but failed. Luckily, Sam was still holding onto his hand and was able to catch him.

"Sorry," Orlin apologized, still halfway on the floor.

"Come on, let's get you some rest," another voice said. Orlin looked over to find Dr. Lam was standing on the opposite side of him. She reached down, and together with Sam helped guide him to the nearest bed.

"Thank you," Orlin said, looking at each of them as they helped him onto the bed.

Almost immediately, he was asleep.

-----

_Thousands of stars danced across the black sky, creating a beautiful spiral of luminous white dots._

_Home._

_Millions of homes, really._

_Many different species, different cultures. So many people all passing through this galaxy._

_Home. My home._

_One of the stars seemed to get closer and closer, until Orlin found himself inside a solar system. He moved closer to the star, but then broke away, as he entered the atmosphere of one of its planets. He was on Dakara._

_He looked around and saw seemingly endless hoards of replicators attacking and being shot at by the outnumbered humans._

_Sam._

_Orlin knew that time was running out for the ones that were trying to stop the replicators, but unfortunately he knew there was nothing he could do but observe. The Others would not allow him to interfere._

_Orlin moved into the cave where Sam was working. He wished so much to be able to help her -- just a little hint of which stone to press. He listened to her call out numbers as she worked alongside her father and the Goa'uld Baal._

_Sam turned around and looked directly at Orlin. He looked around, wondering how she could see him. He was no longer on Dakara, but now at Stargate Command in the commissary eating with Sam._

_"My only regret in all this is that human social conventions preclude us from showing affection the way I wish I could." Orlin heard his childlike voice distantly as if it was coming from another person._

_"Let's not let that stop us." Sam said as she leaned forward and kissed Orlin gently on the lips. Orlin felt a strange warm sensation move through his body. Suddenly, the table was gone, and Orlin and Sam were standing facing each other. Orlin reached his hands under Sam's arms and wrapped them around her back. Sam returned the embrace, as they both closed their eyes and shared a deep passionate kiss. After what seemed like too short an eternity, they pulled back and, still holding each other, gazed into each other's eyes._

_"Sam." Orlin said, in a daze. He felt like his human body was going to explode._

_Suddenly the image of Sam's perfect eyes was gone, replaced by the image of an open Stargate. Orlin's heart sank._

_Judging from his surroundings, Orlin was able to discern that he was now on Velona. The destroyed superweapon stood just off to the side of where he was. The Stargate rippled as an Ori Prior stepped through it._

_"Evil must be vanquished!" The Prior shouted. "Those who bring with them death must be destroyed!" The Prior held up his staff and a bright light filled the immediate area. When the light dissipated, the ground was littered with skeletons, which Orlin knew to be the bodies of those who had lived on Velona._

_Orlin felt nauseated at the sight of all the corpses - corpses of people who were dead because of him._

_The Prior slammed his staff on the ground, and it began to tremble underneath Orlin's feet. Suddenly Orlin found he was unable to breathe. He grasped at his throat, as he slowly collapsed to the ground. Everything around him started to spin. He felt like he was going to die._

-----

Just when Orlin thought he had reached the end, his human body broke the dream state. Orlin remembered he was actually still in the infirmary on Earth, even though he hadn't fully regained consciousness.

He heard voices talking in the distance, though he couldn't make out what they were saying. One of the voices sounded like Sam, but he couldn't be sure.

A bright yellow light filled Orlin's vision. He saw a figure step forward from the light. It wasn't frightening, though - in fact, Orlin could feel his body calming already. As the figure stepped forward, Orlin was able to see that it was the figure of Oma Desala. She looked at him and smiled.

Orlin wasn't sure why she was smiling when so much was going wrong.

_What if I don't find the cure in time to save the humans? What if they all die?_ Orlin didn't even know if it was really her - he didn't think it could be. Still, the image of Oma smiling reassured and calmed him.

_Thank you,_ he thought.

Was it really possible that Oma was watching over him? He wasn't sure, but somehow he now knew that the humans would not be lost.

Written by Levi Roberts, January 2006. Based on the Stargate SG-1 Episode "The Fourth Horseman, Pt. 1". All charaters are © their respective owners. Special thanks to CeeKay Sheppard for betaing.


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